Fate
by Night Owl 303
Summary: Things are just sometimes fated to happen. There is no stopping them.
1. Pearl

**We all now it's bound to happen.**

I don't like hunting.

My mother loves it, but I prefer baking like my father. However, I needed to leave the house or I'd likely strangle Finn, my little brother. Mom was already upset because I turned his hair purple the other day. She called me by my full name and everything, which she only does when she's about to hit her breaking point: Johanna Rue Primrose Mellark. No one even calls me Johanna anymore. I stole my mother's pearl when I was four and ran down the street with her chasing after me. I accidentally toppled over a drunken Haymitch, which was the only reason my mom caught me.

Twelve years have passed since then, but the scene is permanently etched inside everyone's minds. I have never been able to shake my nickname: Pearl.

I pull back the bow with too much force. I fumble and begin to drop off the tree. If it wasn't for my legs wrapped around the branch I would have hit the ground, but instead find myself upside down, looking at a pair of gray eyes.

"Hello." I say nonchalantly.

He smiles.

"Hello. Do you normally do this?" he asks curiously.

The boy has dark hair and olive skin, reminding of someone I can't quite pinpoint.

"Not really. My mom and brother are the family hunters. My dad's a baker, but he said I had to stop spending so much time at the bakery because he is getting jealous of my skills with the icing." I rant.

He laughs. It's a nice laugh. Familiar and warm.

We wait for a moment in silence.

"Can you help me out?" I finally ask as the blood rushes to my head.

He stammers and grabs me by the waist. I collapse into his arms, putting mine around his neck. I stare at him for a moment.

"So, this bakery... Is it any good?" he asks.

I nod.

"Well, would you mind if we dropped by there?" he asks nervously.

I smile.

"Not at all. But there is one thing."

"What?" the boy questions.

"You need to put me down first."

He blushes and gently places me on my feet. I quickly grab my bow and the few arrows that I had in my quiver. I realize I don't even know the stranger's name, something my dad would no doubt frown upon.

"I'm Johanna Mellark. People call me Pearl." I say, extending my hand for him to shake.

He takes it and I notice his eyes sparkle.

"Well, Pearl, I'm Kal. Kal Hawthorne."

We begin the walk back to town.

"My dad is from District 12 you know. He moved to two when he was young." Kal says.

"Huh. My parents are from twelve. Maybe they knew each other." I say.

Even though my hand is still in his, I don't pull away. He holds it the rest of the way.

**Anyone else want to be there when Kal meets Peeta and Katniss?xD**


	2. Peeta

**So mnay of you insisted on another part to this, so I obliged.**

Peeta POV

I wait for Pearl to return. I don't think she caught anything though. Girl is all thumbs with a bow. It is a good thing she can bake.

I keep stirring the batter, wondering if I should send Finn out to look for her when the bell above the entrance chimes.

"Dad?" I hear her call.

I turn to see my grinning daughter, her brown hair falling chaotically around her face. I smile back.

"Hello Pearl. Did you get anything?"

She shakes her head then thinks better of it.

"Wait, I did get one thing." she opened doorway and yelled.

"Kal!"

A tall boy with gray eyes and dark hair walks in. I drop my bowl and it shatters on the ground. Pearl gasps.

"Dad, are you alright?" she asks, worry in her eyes. She probably thinks I am having one of my moments, which I am, but a completely different kind than usual. I nod, though I'm anything but alright.

"This is Kal Hawthorne." Pearl says, but I already knew he was somehow related to him. They are cut from the same cloth, practically identical.

He waves nervously. I realize he is holding my daughter's hand. Why is he holding my daughter's hand?

"Peeta, what was the sound I heard-"

I freeze as my wife comes from the back. She likes to see me work though she can't cook, much less bake, without nearly burning the house down.

I hear her breathing hitch. I struggle to remain composed, for her sake.

"This is Kal Hawthorne. Pearl met him... Well, actually, I'm not entirely sure how she met him."

Katniss notices their hands too. She flinches. A Hawthorne is holding a girl named after her sister. I put an arm around her to keep her upright.

Pearl doesn't notice. She shrugs.

"I met him while hunting. I told him about your bakery and he insisted on coming." she explains.

I wish she didn't look so happy considering I still have a strange desire to strangle Kal, though the rational part of me knows he isn't at fault.

Kal smiles at us. He seems to do that more than the other Hawthorn, the one who we never speak of out of fear of hurting Katniss. She reluctantly let me paint him into the book because he was such an important part of her life. Pearl and Finn used to ask when they were younger what happened to him. Katniss stayed in bed for days afterwards. I started skipping those pages.

Kal is talking. I focus on him again.

"-I had to go tell my dad where I would be. He should be here any second."

I quickly hold on to Katniss. No, she shouldn't have to handle this. She thought she'd never have to see him again. She'll never be ready-

The bell chimes ring and in walks Gale Hawthorn.

**If you enjoyed this, PLEASE vote for my essay here. If you do, I promise one more part to this former one-shot. It'll be in Katniss POV. Just let me know if you did in your review. =D**

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